I still have lots of zucchini in the garden, so I had good results adapting Elise's recipe to make Zucchini Muffins, I decided to try making zucchini bread. My first zucchini bread attempt was not a keeper, but for the second try I came up with this Low-Sugar and Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread with Blueberries and Pecans that I really liked. I'll always be more of a cook than a baker, but I was excited that I managed to adapt ideas from a few different recipes and get zucchini bread that worked for my low-glycemic way of eating.

Last night I made dinner for my sister Pam, her husband Kelly, and my niece Alyson (after Kelly hooked up my new natural gas grill, thanks Kelly!) and they gave the zucchini bread three thumbs up. Putting blueberries in was an impulse that worked out, but if you don't have blueberries I think you could use another cup of zucchini (with maybe a bit more cinnamon) or add some other type of fruit.

This next step made me wish I had a KitchenAid stand mixer, but I used my hand mixer to beat the eggs and sweetener, and it worked great.

Once eggs have tripled in size, add the canola oil and vanilla and stir to combine.

Then stir in one cup of grated zucchini. (Since I only used one cup of zucchini, I just grated it by hand this time.)

Next mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. The batter will be very stiff. If it seems like it will be too stiff to be able to mix in the nuts and blueberries, add 1-2 T water.

Gently stir in the fresh or thawed blueberries and chopped pecans, just mixing enough to get them distributed in the batter.

Spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray or oil, then put batter in and spread around. (I used a rubber scraper to get the stiff mixture to fill the pan evenly, and at this point I wondered whether the recipe was going to work!)

Here's how the finished loaf looked as it was cooling in the pan, probably not good-looking enough to win any baking awards, but this was definitely tasty!

Low-Sugar and Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread with Blueberries and Pecans
(Makes one loaf, recipe created by Kalyn with inspiration from several other recipes, but especially one I found in The Splenda World of Sweetness, sent to me several years ago by my friend Amy from Cooking with Amy, thanks Amy!)

In a bowl that's large enough to hold all the ingredients, beat the Splenda or Stevia and eggs with an electric mixer or hand beater until the eggs triple in size, about 5 minutes. Stir in canola oil and vanilla, then stir in grated zucchini.

Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. (The mixture will be stiff, but if it seems too stiff to be able to add blueberries and pecans add 1-2 T water.) Fold in blueberries and pecans, mixing just enough to get them distributed in the batter. Spread the mixture into loaf pan.

Bake zucchini bread 45-50 minutes, or until toothpick tester stuck into the center of the loaf comes out clean. (For me that took 50 minutes, but I was baking it in a toaster oven.) Let the bread cool in the loaf pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then use a knife to run around the edge of the bread and remove the loaf to cool a few minutes more on the wire rack before slicing.

This bread is great warm or cold. I've been eating it re-heated in the microwave for about a minute, which works great. (If anyone tries freezing this, I'd love to hear how it works.)

Made with white whole wheat flour and Splenda or Stevia, this recipe would be good for phase 2 or 3 of the South Beach Diet. It's a fairly calorie-dense recipe, so for phase 2, don't overdo it on the portion size.

I chose the South Beach Diet to manage my weight partly so I wouldn't have to count calories, carbs, points, or fat grams, but if you want nutritional information for a recipe, I recommend entering the recipe into Calorie Count, which will calculate it for you. Or if you're a member of Yummly, you can use the Yum button on my site to save the recipe and see the nutritional information there.

More Tasty Ideas withZucchini:
(Recipes from other blogs may not always be South Beach Diet friendly; check ingredients.)

(Want even more recipes? I find these recipes from other blogs using Food Blog Search.)

Blogger Disclosure:

Posts may include links to my affiliate account at Amazon.com, and Kalyn's Kitchen earns a few cents on the dollar if readers purchase the items I recommend, so thanks for supporting my blog when you shop at Amazon!

If you make a recipe, share it with the hashtag #kalynskitchen on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter so I can see what you're cooking!

Posts may include links to my affiliate account at Amazon.com, and this blog earns a few cents on the dollar if readers purchase the items I recommend, so thanks for supporting my blog when you shop at Amazon!

39 comments:

Kalyn - I have been a long time reader of your website - I love it! I have really learned how to cook and think for myself in the kitchen - you've helped me overcome my frozen-dinner/fast food habits. Not to mention that you're also teaching my husband these things by proxy (he cooks about half the time). I appreciate your work so much!

Also, you introduced me to the foodblogsearch - which is absolutely indispensable for me. I had the same idea and consulted the search for a savory zucchini bread. I was going to adapt one of the savory zucchini recipes I found on there for onion/parmesan savory zucchini bread - essentially a lot less sugar with 1/2c parm and some sautéed onions - add a little bit of oregano/thyme. I haven't tried it yet as I am out of eggs, but I hope to tonight. I will let you know how it goes!

When I made zucchini bread for my kids they loved it. I would have never of thought to make it before I had them, but now I am always looking for new recipes to expand their little taste buds. Next one I try will have to have some blueberries in it, and maybe some pecans. They aren't the biggest nut fans yet.

That looks like an excellent zucchini bread - and I always love blueberries! I usually toss the berries (while frozen or fresh) with a little flour so the berries don't sink - but yours look just fine. Speaking of blueberries, this morning I made blueberry muffins, tossing the berries with flour and a little lemon verbena sugar - then forgot to add the sugar! Can you believe the muffins tasted almost the same without the extra sugar? I was really surprised. ( I whizzed a few leaves of lemon verbena in the food processor, then added two T. sugar and whizzed again, then sprinkled it on the berries)

Kalyn - I was just wondering what else I could do with the glut of zucchini the garden has produced this year. This looks like a wonderful addition to my repertoire, though I, like you, am more of a cook than a baker. I was surprised to read you wish you had a KA stand mixer. I only own a hand mixer and have been trying for years to discover the right stand mixer to purchase but if a hand mixer works so well for you, maybe I will just stay with it!

Thanks again for the nice feedback on this recipe. Planning to try a savory zucchini bread of some type this weekend.

Carol L., I think the white whole wheat flour is quite different in flavor and texture than whole wheat flour (white whole wheat is much more like white flour) so I'm not sure how whole wheat would work here. Love to hear what you think if you try it though.

Well, I'm off to make my third batch of this with what is probably the last of the zukes out of the garden. This stuff is addictive! And to keep myself from eating it a loaf at a time, I'm baking it in muffin tins and freezing them in bags of four. You've had so many good zucchini recipes this summer (still haven't done the carpaccio...) but my zukes are all heading into this one lately! Thanks again. 'Just love your site!

I needed to use up some zucchini in a no-fail-to-impress-my-kids recipe, and this was awesome! I used whole wheat instead of white whole wheat, and still tasted great! And unfortunately, I didn't have blueberries on hand so I threw in a banana. Could've probably reduced the splenda a bit as a result, but still fantastic!!

With all the raves, I guess you don't really need one more, but here it is. I made it with sugar for my kids and am now baking another with Splenda, since I have it and have not tried baking with it. I just love the combination of veg, fruit and nuts. Thanks for a great recipe!

I'm so happy you're taking the time to comment on Kalyn's Kitchen! I love hearing from people who stop by, especially if you're sharing feedback or asking questions about a recipe I've posted here.

I've recently changed my comment settings so people can comment without signing in, but you will need to check the box to show you're a live person, and comments on older posts won't show up until I publish them. Thanks for understanding!

And if you really like the recipe, Pins, Shares, Tweets, and Yums are always appreciated!

Food Blogger Love!

Copyright Notice

All Photos and Original Text (C) Copyright: 2005-2016, By Kalyn's Kitchen® LLC. I grant permission for photos and recipe links to be copied to Pinterest and other social media sites, but not recipe text. All Other Rights Reserved. (Other bloggers may post their adapted version of a recipe found here, with their own photos and recipe text, but please link back to the inspiring recipe on this site.)

Kalyn's Kitchen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.